Open Letter: The EU must aim at breaking the cycle of violence and impunity in South Sudan

Paris-Brussels, 8 December 2014

Dear Ms. Mogherini,
Dear Mr. Rondos,
Dear Member States Representatives,

FIDH, the International Federation for Human Rights, wishes to transmit to you its Report "We fear the worst: Breaking the Cycle of Violence and Impunity in South Sudan to Prevent Chaos". This Report follows a mission held in November 2014 to assess the human rights situation prevailing in South Sudan, a year after the outbreak of the conflict in December 2013.

FIDH noticed that, while the efforts of the international community have permitted to mitigate the violence and to protect thousands of civilians, almost a year after the outbreak of the conflict, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GRSS) and the South Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army – in opposition (SPLM/A-IO) have not yet concluded any meaningful political agreement and civilians continue to live in a situation of extreme insecurity which threatens to worsen in the coming weeks.

Sporadic armed clashes continue to be reported in the north of the country along with information claiming a proliferation of armed groups and continuous resupplying of weapons and recruitment of combatants, including among children. Against this backdrop, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees remain unsafe, concerns are raising over the increasing hindrances to fundamental rights and freedoms and those responsible for serious crimes remain at large.

In order to prevent the country from re-sinking into chaos, the international community must strengthen the mediation efforts and put emphasis on the root causes of the conflict. A coordinated strategy must focus on addressing the country's governance challenges. This strategy must include the support to the reinforcement of state institutions (in particular the judiciary, the police and the army); the reform of the legal normative framework, in line with regional and international human rights instruments; and it must also adequately address the challenges pertaining to the militarization of society, including its polarization around ethnic lines for political purposes and ensuring opportunities offered to every citizen to take part in the conduct of public affairs without any form of distinction.

Most importantly, and considering that years of impunity in South Sudan have been recognized as one of the key factors of the serious crimes committed since the outbreak of the conflict, a strong attention must be paid to the establishment of accountability mechanisms aimed at providing justice and redress to victims of human rights violations and at preventing further crimes. FIDH considers that any peace agreement must include a proposal for a special court system to be set up within the South Sudanese judiciary which would provide for South Sudanese and specially trained foreign judges to try perpetrators of international crimes. This will permit a skills transfer between such foreign judges and their South Sudanese counterparts.

FIDH considers that the EU has a key role to play to contribute to the efforts aimed at breaking the cycle of violence and impunity in South Sudan and recommends the institution to:

• Call upon IGAD to strengthen its mediation efforts and ensure that IGAD the UN adopt a set of targeted sanctions against human rights violators. The EU should revise its own set of restrictive measures to ensure a better targeting of the persons responsible for human rights violations.

• Maintain its embargo on arms.

• Support the establishment of a special court system to be set up within the South Sudanese judiciary which would provide for South Sudanese and specially trained foreign judges to try perpetrators of international crimes.

• Publicly condemn any agreement which would provide immunity and amnesties to those responsible for international crimes, in violation of international law.

• Publicly, systematically and firmly condemn the violations of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated against civilians by the army, the forces controlled by the opposition and other armed groups.

• Call upon IGAD to ensure that independent human rights organizations, including women's rights organizations are fully involved into the peace negotiations.

• Ensure that the EU Delegation in South Sudan does implement the EU guidelines on the protection of women's rights and human rights defenders.

• Provide support, through the strengthening of their capacities, to human rights organizations, in particular those documenting the human rights violations and focusing on governance and the rule of law.

• Support legal and institutional reforms in South Sudan which are conform with regional and international human rights instruments.

• Continue humanitarian aid in order to tackle emergencies but also maintain social services affected by the conflict; Integrate human rights concerns in the planing and implementation of this aid to tackle such issues as gender-based violence in camps; Foresee a linkage with future development aid once it is reinstalled.

• Ensure that the economic activities of EU based companies and Member States, notably concerning oil deals, do not lead to further human rights violations or fueling of existing tensions.

• Ensure that the development policies of EU Member States – notably support to the Judiciary of South Sudan and to the police – contribute to the above-mentioned objectives.

Thanking you for your attention,

Yours sincerely,
Karim Lahidji, FIDH President

Last Update 17 December 2014